Our God is an awesome God! One of the questions I ask our team members following a trip to Brazil is “So, why did God send you?” Of course, each of us must seek God’s answer to that question on our own.

One reason for our whole group to have taken this very quick and packed trip in May is already clear, though. When we arrived in Belo Horizonte on Thursday, May 4, we began to hear some disturbing news that Wellington Bessa, now 15 and one of our favorite young Brazilians for nearly six years, had been caught in the treacherous snares of favela life. He had taken first steps towards those things that catch and entrap so many young favela kids – drugs and increasing contact with the traficantes. Wellington’s parents, João and Silvia, were sad and grieving when we saw them at worship that evening.

Unlike every single one of my previous ten trips, I did not see Wellington in the first few hours of our visit. He was avoiding us. On Friday Joe Gioan told Wellington’s older brother, Junior, to tell Wellington to get to church or he’d come up into the favela after him. Fortunately, Wellington did not call our bluff and Joe did not have to haul him out of the favela. Wellington made his first tentative appearance at the church on Saturday evening.

As I would be told later, os Americanos were used mightily by God over the next 36 hours. Our team members welcomed Wellington in ways reminiscent of the father who welcomed the prodigal home. And Joe, Jack Walker, and I also expressed our sadness and disappointment in what we had heard and plead with him to come home from the “distant country.” By Sunday those of us who have known Wellington began to see our old friend returning – his contagious smile and bright eyes.

On Monday we traveled to the small farming town of Florestal where IPJA sponsors a congregation and then on to the airport for our flight back to the United States. We invited Wellington to join us for the day – kids from the favela don’t leave the city very often. It was a day for Wellington to joke and kid with American friends, and a day for an occasional bit of serious conversation. As team members said their farewells at the airport, those of us who will return to Brazil this summer were able to say “até julho” (until July) with a strong confidence that we would see Wellington growing again in the faith he has received from home and church.

When it was our turn to say goodbye, Becky and I stood with Wellington and Becky gave him our blessing and called him to continue to grow as a young man “after God’s own heart.” His bright eyes were filled with tears, as were ours. What a privilege to be used by the Chief Shepherd of the Sheep to help seek one of the strays from the flock.

I talked to Pastor Robson Wednesday and he is very encouraged by all that has happened since last Saturday. Wellington has gone to both Robson and Pastor Ronilton and asked for forgiveness — a brave thing for a 15 year old boy to do. Robson also says that the role of our team was the decisive factor in the Good Shepherd snatching this errant lamb from the precipice.

So why did we travel to Brazil for five days in May? There will be many answers, but one of them will be so that those who God needed to use in the life of Wellington Bessa would be close by when He needed them. And in my opinion, that alone is worth every penny of the $10,000 our Park team spent to be there! Thanks be to God!

Keep Wellington in your prayers. In a session with the elders of IPJA we talked abut the image from 1 Peter 5 of that prowling lion who seeks someone to devour. This week the evil one will not be happy about losing his lunch.